Chapter Summaries

Shade secured a promise from Sister Devlin to provide a limited amount of Water of the Styx and learned how it could erase soul-bound powers. In Arcadia City, he recovered the auction’s alchemy solvent and urged Wei Ge to use the Creation Church crisis to win benefits for the Witch Council, though she questioned whether the Council could rely on the God Summoner.

• The priest promised Shade a limited batch of protective charms and advised him to use the Creation Church scandal to secure benefits for the Witch Council.
• Sister Devlin agreed to provide some Water of the Styx and explained that specially prepared potions could erase Spirit Runes or thaumaturgic spells without side effects.
• Shade read news that the auction robbers had been shot dead, and Wei Ge showed him the Moon 6 Ancient Alchemy Solvent Baron Ramsay had returned as an apology.
• Wei Ge said Baron Ramsay had reclaimed the manuscript and that she had asked him to sell it to her, while her relatives had found no connection to the mysterious face.
• Shade discussed the Fire Seed Container and the Creation Church with Wei Ge, then urged her to seek a share of the Church’s concessions for the Witch Council.
• Wei Ge questioned whether the Council could contact the God Summoner and asked if Shade meant that the Speaker should bring people to Arcadia City.

Shade investigated clues tied to the local occult organizations and learned from Mr. Finch that a faction within Creation Church sought to replace human bodies with machinery and use Kindling to animate them. The discussion left Shade and Mr. Finch concerned that the Mechanical School’s research might be connected to the coming Tenth Chosen One and the growing crisis in the Arcadia Region.

• Shade visited Mr. Finch, who recognized the person depicted by the Skin Object from more than twenty years earlier and agreed to ask other Ring Arcanists about it.
• Shade told Mr. Finch that The Truth Society and the Demon Eye Club had appeared in the region, and that the stolen auction collectible might be a container for a Kindling.
• Shade connected the gathered organizations and Creation Church’s violations to the impending arrival of The Tenth Chosen One, then revealed that Old John had introduced him as someone formidable.
• Mr. Finch explained that Creation Church’s Mechanical School sought to replace flesh with machinery and might be studying Kindling to give mechanical bodies vitality.
• Shade proposed that a stable Fire Seed Source could animate a Mechanical Life body, and Mr. Finch acknowledged that Creation Church might be pursuing that approach.

After a violent disturbance from the Creation Church’s headquarters drew Wei Ge’s consciousness away, Shade traveled to Fragrant Residence and entered the same consciousness realm to find her. He discovered that Wei Ge’s consciousness had projected into Reality beside the weakened giant Fire Seed Source, leaving Shade needing to reach the headquarters to contact her.

• A tremendous crash stirred the Elements Tide, and Shade’s Fire Seed Source reacted to the giant one at the Church headquarters.
• Shade realized Wei Ge might be affected by the giant Fire Seed Source and rushed to Fragrant Residence, where he found her unconscious.
• Shade removed Wei Ge’s Limiter and determined that her consciousness had been drawn away while her soul and Life Force remained intact.
• Shade used his Fire Seed Source to send his consciousness toward the giant Fire Seed Source and searched for Wei Ge.
• Shade sensed Wei Ge’s consciousness beside the Fire Seed Source in Reality, but could not reach her without going there himself.

Shade created a temporary living vessel with Red Moon: Creation and manifested before The Church, while Iluna and the other investigators battled activated machines at the [Creation Church] headquarters. The machines were suppressed until a giant fire-fueled golem broke through the ground, with Gerald Delong standing on its shoulder.

• Shade used the Fire Seed Source and Red Moon: Creation to create a living vessel and appear in reality.
• Iluna escaped the Forge Tower after it transformed into a machine and began attacking her.
• Iluna and Mr. Gareth Sander fought through the headquarters as machines rampaged, while Iluna sensed the Fire Seed Source rising from underground.
• Iluna and four Thirteenth Ring Ring Arcanists helped clear the surface battlefield as the [Creation Church]'s holy power suppressed the machines.
• A fifty-meter metal golem erupted from the eastern garden with a Fire Seed Source in its chest, and Gerald Delong stood on its shoulder as it evolved.

The Construct Master revealed that he had broken with the Creation Church to pursue Fire Seed Source research, and his golem confronted the investigators. Shade’s consciousness joined with Wei Ge and a new Fire Seed Source, forming a Flame Giant that battled the golem, which then unleashed a powerful Life Energy attack.

• The Construct Master declared that he no longer obeyed the Creation Church and defended his research into the Fire Seed Source as other Church members joined him.
• An emerald figure drawn from underground rushed toward the golem’s Fire Seed Source, and the golem caught it in its hand.
• The figure’s power burst through the golem’s hand as a scarlet vertical eye, while Wei Ge’s consciousness merged with the new Fire Seed Source under Shade’s influence.
• Shade manifested a Flame Giant that stopped the golem’s attack, tore off its arm, and gained the advantage in their clash.
• The Construct Master drew out the golem’s Fire Seed Source energy and fired a powerful scarlet Life Energy blast at Shade and the others.

Shade and the Thirteenth Ring Warlocks defeated the golem’s attack, but Shade returned to his body with dangerous life force in his chest and had to cut it out. After recovering, he and Wei Ge shared their first kiss, which the returning maids interrupted.

• Shade shielded Iluna and the Thirteenth Ring Warlocks, then used Chaos Remnants to destroy the golem’s body and level the eastern wing of the Creation Church.
• Shade woke with an eye-like lump in his chest, dug it out, and extracted its Distorted Life Fire Seed into the Fire Seed Source beneath Little Mia’s paw.
• Wei Ge embraced Shade and apologized for his injuries, while Miss MacDonald ordered the maids to bring healing potions.
• Shade and Wei Ge kissed as the life force affected them, but Shade stopped things from going further because he sensed Wei Ge’s condition was abnormal.
• The maids returned with the potions and interrupted them, leaving Miss Lorraine to see Wei Ge’s furious reaction.

After Shade rescued Wei Ge during the Church battle, she recovered and treated his wound while they discussed the Fire Seed Source and her loss of consciousness. Shade shared information for the Witch Council and stayed at Wei Ge’s home to await news, while Wei Ge was pleased by their growing intimacy.

• Wei Ge recovered by drinking Shade’s blood, then used medicine and a thaumaturgy from her mother’s notes to heal his chest wound.
• Shade and Wei Ge discussed the Church battle, the strange Fire Seed Source, and Wei Ge’s consciousness being drawn toward it.
• Shade had Miss MacDonald record what he knew about containing and extinguishing Life Fire Seeds, and asked Wei Ge to bring the information to the Witch Council.
• Wei Ge kissed Shade and asked whether he would wait at her home for news from his friends; Shade went to change his bloodstained clothes.
• After Shade left with Little Mia, Wei Ge smiled over their kiss while Miss Lorraine apologized for the trouble she had caused.

After sharing a passionate kiss with Wei Ge, Shade waited with her for news of the battle at the Creation Church. Daniste’s report revealed that the Construct Master had escaped with many followers, while the Church retained a weakened Fire Seed Source, leaving Shade and Wei Ge questioning how the betrayal had been organized.

• Wei Ge recalled her kiss with Shade, then prepared to meet him in the study while Miss MacDonald advised her to plan how she would report the information he had provided.
• Shade considered the Fire Seed Source and the possibilities of combining it with flesh or machinery as he waited with Wei Ge.
• Shade and Wei Ge sat together while they waited for Daniste’s message, and Wei Ge grew more affectionate toward him.
• Daniste’s Dove delivered a letter reporting that the Construct Master and his supporters had escaped after threatening to detonate the Fire Seed Source, taking researchers, senior clergy, and at least thirty High-Ring Arcanists with them.
• Shade told Wei Ge that the Church had retained the Fire Seed Source, but he suspected it was only a fragment of the original and that most of its power had been hidden.
• Shade reported that Miguel Conti had been ambushed and Sister Sophia Lopez badly wounded, then questioned how Gerald Delong had organized the apostasy so quickly despite his recent return to Church headquarters.

Shade discussed the Creation Church’s crisis with Wei Ge, then returned home to find a huge new bed and several Witches ready to celebrate its arrival with him. Their plans were interrupted when all four received summons to a meeting, leaving Tifa in charge of keeping Shade home.

• Shade told Wei Ge that the Fire Seed Source was incomplete and that the Demon Eye Club might be searching for a container, and he asked her to alert the Council and The Church.
• Shade left Wei Ge’s home after agreeing to visit again the next day, while Wei Ge wondered when she might get another chance to be with him.
• Shade returned to find Galina, Megan, Sivie, and Vanessa gathered around the enormous new bed Leisha had delivered.
• Galina noticed Wei Ge’s kiss on Shade, and Shade recounted the recent events at the Creation Church over dinner as the maids prepared the bedroom.
• The four Witches were summoned to a meeting before they could test the new bed, and Galina told Tifa not to let Shade leave the house.

At the Witch Council, Wei Ge reported Shade’s intelligence about the Church and the Arcadia Region, then accidentally prompted Adele to assign Galina’s grandniece Angelina to help her. Wei Ge regretted her words and resolved to make the most of the week before Angelina arrived.

• Tifa tested the new bedroom furniture with Shade while insisting that he remain seated.
• Wei Ge briefed the Great Witches on the Church’s account of the Flame Giant and the dangers in Arcadia.
• Adele praised Wei Ge, promised her a reward, and arranged a meeting with Audrey and her sisters.
• Wei Ge mentioned how well she got along with a busy young woman, and Adele interpreted it as a need for more help in Arcadia.
• Adele assigned Galina’s grandniece Angelina to assist Wei Ge, and Galina arranged for her to depart Tobesk the following week.
• Wei Ge reluctantly agreed to take care of Angelina and decided to pursue her relationship with Shade more quickly before she arrived.

Shade told the Witches that Wei Ge had injured him while rescuing her, and they decided to let him rest while continuing their furniture trial. The next morning, Emilia revealed that she had made Bubble Pod candy and named it Bean Pod Candy.

• Shade explained how Wei Ge had injured him, and the Witches decided he would not need to move during their continued furniture trial.
• Galina discussed whether to tell Wei Ge the truth when Angelina arrived in Arcadia City, and Shade said he would join the conversation.
• Emilia returned from Arcadia City and showed Shade the Bubble Pod candies she had made with help from Ellie's blessing of Luck.
• Shade tasted the candy, suggested Emilia register a patent and promote it, and Emilia named it Bean Pod Candy.

Daniste briefed Shade and the others on the Fire Seed Source, the Church’s aftermath, and clues about the Tenth Chosen One. Shade then shared a troubling record suggesting Wei Ge’s mother had been married before, comforted Wei Ge, and finally obtained the original Mark I Steam Engine design manuscript.

• Daniste explained that the Fire Seed Source would be studied in Arcadia, the Construct Master remained at large, and traitors might possess other Fire Seed Sources.
• Daniste shared three clues about the Tenth Chosen One, including that creation could involve both living flesh and dead objects and that reproduction was necessary.
• Shade found Margaret’s letter at the Witch’s Tower and brought Wei Ge new information from Gray Gloves records about her mother’s past.
• Shade told Wei Ge that her mother had an officially registered marriage before marrying her father, and he promised to stay by her side while she struggled with the news.
• Wei Ge secretly acquired Baron Ramsay’s original Mark I Steam Engine design manuscript, and Shade took it along with the other manuscripts to old Mr. Laibury’s home.

Shade returned the ancestral manuscripts to Old Mr. Laibury, then exchanged intelligence with Mr. Finch about the growing dangers in Arcadia City. At Wei Ge’s mansion, he learned that several witches had arrived and promised to see her again on Sunday.

• Shade gave Old Mr. Laibury the three recovered manuscripts, arranged to buy the Blue Ink Library, and warned him to keep the Steam Engine design manuscript secret.
• Shade discussed the Creation Church’s betrayal with Mr. Finch, shared his suspicions about the traitors and the Fire Seed Source, and learned that the Saint Alliance had seized an unknown relic.
• Mr. Finch gave Shade a Runestone and warned him about the dangers surrounding the Fire Seed and the Chosen Ones.
• Shade found his Witches Detection Badge heating at Wei Ge’s mansion and waited while a visiting witch remained upstairs.
• Wei Ge told Shade that two more witches would arrive and stay until the following afternoon, then asked him to return on Sunday.
• Wei Ge kissed Shade on the cheek and was about to give him a goodbye kiss when someone knocked on the door.

Wei Ge hid Shade from Bella when the Great Witch of Fate visited, then reunited with him after Bella left the room. Shade later met Bella privately in the washroom, where they shared a tender farewell before he returned home, while Bella resolved to pursue him as his other companions had.

• Wei Ge hid Shade in the Changing Room when Bella arrived and searched the room, but Bella pretended she had found nothing.
• Wei Ge told Shade that Bella had come with the Speaker and Megan, and promised that the visitors would leave Saturday night.
• Shade appeared in the washroom after Bella, and she wiped Wei Ge's lipstick mark from his cheek before kissing him.
• Bella confirmed that Vanessa had gone to Shade's home and guessed that Galina and others had been with him, but she did not blame him.
• Shade kissed Bella goodbye and returned home, while Bella splashed water on her face and decided that she could pursue him too.

Shade visited Mr. Corps to examine a Skin Object and question it about Wei Ge’s mother, Peggy Le May. The skin revealed that her apparent marriage was a disguise, then began disclosing a strange doctrine about creation before the excerpt ended.

• Shade exchanged money with Mr. Corps for Active Metal and asked him to examine the Skin Object.
• Mr. Corps determined that the skin was a Poet Level Relic Derivative and used an Ask Skin Ritual to question it.
• Shade learned that Peggy Le May had obtained the skin in 1821 while she belonged to The Truth Society, and that she had posed as her own husband to appear as a complete family.
• The skin’s attempt to describe its most memorable use triggered a dangerous surge of Whisper Element, which the Black Crown of Thorns and Mr. Corps’ talisman suppressed.
• The skin spoke of the union of male and female as a path toward creation and perfection, then continued its revelation as the chapter ended.

Shade learned that Peggy Le May may have created the Perfect Child by conceiving with her own fleshly avatar, and suspected that Wei Ge was the result. He told Wei Ge and the witches at Fragrant Residence, and they prepared to investigate the Astley Family cemetery.

• The scarecrow’s account revealed how Peggy Le May and her avatar conceived the Perfect Child, and Mr. Corps explained the possible family relationship such a child would have to its mother.
• Shade hurried home, told Luvia and Winnie that Peggy Le May’s only known descendant was Wei Ge, then went to Fragrant Residence to share the discovery with Megan and Bella.
• Megan and Bella agreed to pretend they knew nothing and arranged to visit the Astley Family cemetery that night with Wei Ge and the other Great Witches.
• Shade found Wei Ge with Miss MacDonald and explained that checking for a blood relation to the Astley Family could identify her father.
• Wei Ge broke down crying, then asked Shade whether he would go with them to the cemetery.

Wei Ge investigated her parents’ graves to verify her bloodline and learned that she was their natural child, though her mother’s body in the coffin was a cultivated shell. The discovery of a hidden symbol beneath her mother’s coffin left Wei Ge with a new clue about her mother’s fate.

• Shade turned into a Silver Cat and hid in Miss MacDonald’s arms while Wei Ge told Adele, Megan, and Bella about her nightmare.
• Wei Ge had Megan excavate her parents’ shared grave, and Bella confirmed that her father’s corpse was her direct ancestor.
• Megan and Bella determined that Wei Ge’s mother’s body was a cultivated shell rather than a true corpse, though Bella thought Peggy Lemay had probably died.
• Wei Ge kept tissue from the shell so Flora and Bella could try to locate her mother’s real corpse, then began reburying her parents.
• Wei Ge sensed a mark beneath her mother’s coffin, and the group recognized it as the symbol found on rings connected to The Truth Society and Wei Ge’s mother.

The Witches uncovered a stone slab revealing that Wei Ge’s mother had pursued the Perfect Child and a way to cure her descendants. On the walk back, the group encountered a battle between the Saint Alliance and the Demon Eye Club, and Adele stopped a fleeing safe-deposit-box creature before it reached them.

• The ring activated the coffin’s ritual, which transformed the coffin and its false corpse into a black stone slab while leaving the ring intact.
• The Witches read the slab’s five inscriptions, learning that the Philosopher’s Stone could not be synthesized in the Sixth Epoch and that the Perfect Child had been divided into four.
• Wei Ge and the others left the cemetery and walked back toward Fragrant Residence, with Wei Ge quiet after the revelations about her mother.
• A silvery creature assembled from bank safe-deposit boxes burst from the Kasonlik Royal Bank as two Saint Alliance arcanists fought three members of the Demon Eye Club nearby.
• The creature absorbed the electric arcs restraining it and fled toward the Witches, so Adele revealed the group and froze it with her spell.

Adele confronted the Infant-Holding Holy Mother and destroyed her manifestation with Chaos Light, while Iluna arrived afterward and learned the Holy Mother would return unless her container was destroyed. Back at Fragrant Residence, the witches discovered both factions had fought over the Kindling, and Shade comforted an exhausted Wei Ge.

• Adele drove off the Demon Eye Club members and immobilized the Saint Alliance fighters before confronting the approaching Infant-Holding Holy Mother.
• The Holy Mother provoked Adele, who unleashed her Thirteenth Order power and destroyed the Holy Mother and her Marble Sculpture Infant with Chaos Light.
• Iluna arrived and Adele explained that the Holy Mother’s manifestation had been defeated, but the Holy Mother could not die while her container remained intact.
• Adele returned to Fragrant Residence, where Bella divined that the Saint Alliance and Demon Eye Club had both sought the Kindling, and the Safe Deposit Box Aggregate was sealed in the Underground Palace.
• Shade visited Wei Ge in her bedroom and held her as she asked him for comfort.

Shade comforted Wei Ge after she learned that her mother may have created a Perfect Child and that she may have an elder sister, then returned home and discussed the mysteries surrounding the research and Kindling with Luvia. He used the Yggdrasil Key to visit Adele in the past and found her injured in their ruined home.

• Shade held Wei Ge as she cried over her mother's experiments and promised to help uncover the truth about her possible elder sister.
• Wei Ge asked Shade to return on Sunday, kissed him, and then called for Miss Lorraine to prepare a bath.
• Shade returned home, told Luvia what had happened, and discussed Lady Le May, the Perfect Child, and the groups seeking Kindling.
• Shade used the Yggdrasil Key to travel to the Doomsday Era, bringing the Perfume Bottle as his extra relic.
• Shade arrived at Adele's ruined home and found her lying on the sofa with a bloodied bandage around her chest.